Treponema pallidum Pathogenesis/Biomedical Intervention Development

Our research program focuses on understanding the highly invasive capacity of Treponema pallidum, the causative agent of syphilis, with the goal of better understanding how the bacterium causes infections in humans. Using a combination of molecular, cell biology, imaging, and proteomic/multiomic techniques, our objectives are to identify and characterize T. pallidum and host proteins and components that mediate the infection process, and translate these discoveries into biomedical interventions to treat and/or prevent infection.